Scott Dunlap's blog of trail running, ultrarunning, triathlon, and other life adventures. I enjoy the physical, emotional, and spiritual journey of outdoor events and the chance to meet cool people. This blog contains interviews, research, original fiction, new product ideas, and all things trail running.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The New Runner's World iPhone App

Today, Runner's World announced the availability of their new iPhone App that allows you to see their 100+ shoe reviews, find the closest running specialty store that has it in your size, and even put it on hold to come in and try on. In addition, they have some great videos to help you understand what kind of shoe is right for you, how to properly tie your shoes (apparently I've been doing it wrong for years), and more.

If this sounds a little bit like my company, NearbyNow, that's because it's based on our technology. In one of those star-aligning moments my work and passions have collided! Now I'm blogging about it to make the trifecta complete. ;-)

Search all the 100+ shoes from their Shoe Guide, or search by brand or price range:

Check out their videos to learn about pronation, find the right shoe for you, and even the proper way to tie your shoes (which is surprisingly enlightening):

Browse shoes by category:

Find the closest store to you that has the product, buy online, or forward to a friend so they can find the shoe near them:

Read the Runner's World review:

When you find the closest store, you can enter your size and the NearbyNow Concierge team will confirm your size is available and e-mail/text you back:

Cool, huh? I'm already finding it helpful to scope new shoes, find stores in new areas, and (ahem) learn to tie my shoes correctly. A handy free App for runners.

If you're a blogger, please do me a favor and steal these pics to blog about it yourself! If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, download it and let me know what you would like to see next. Thanks in advance for spreading the word...

To Palm and Blackberry users - I know you guys don't get the cool apps first usually. We've done some research, and it turns out that only 5-9% of you know how to download an app and would be willing to do so (iPhone is more like 80%). So we usually start with the iPhone. It's quite an empire Apple is building over there. ;-)

Thanks Kik and Paul! You're right that 3.77 miles from Zombie Runner is the coolest feature.

I'm relatively new to distance running, but have been looking for a place to find out a lot more about it. I'm definitely going to favorite this.

The link about pronation in this specific post was both very cool and very helpful. I wish i had an Iphone, too. The new app you developed seems like a would be pretty cool, and useful, to have on hand!

Scott - Downloaded the app and it works great. Quick question - how is your technology validating that my SIZE is in? I run a small business and wish I could say my inventory data was accurate.

Also a suggestion - would love to see running apparel in here. I don't change my shoes much, but i'm always changing clothes with the seasons to get the latest.

One thing I've always hoped for is a marathon guide App for big races like the Chicago Marathon, Boston, etc. It would be so handy to have a guide, something that let me follow the race while I was in it, where to eat, where to celebrate, that sort of thing.

My name is Taylor Marshall-Green, I’m the content manager and editor for a new and exciting website, MarblePlay.com and we want you to write for us. After following your “A Trail Runner's Blog,” we feel you’d be a perfect fit as an exclusive contributor and team member of Marble Play. Your style, passion, expertise and voice would be a welcome addition to a website that will reinvent how people get active and stay active. Also, as a fellow runner, this new iPhone app looks amazing.

We expect to launch this Fall, but Marble Play will focus on sports, recreation, fitness and lifestyle. It’s all about getting out to play. Go find a new buddy for tennis, go trade scuba gear, go read about how walking to rehabilitate one’s hip also rehabilitates one’s mood. From little league to bar league to senior league, Marble Play will help people discover new ways to sweat, socialize and play. Here are some of Marble Play’s exciting new features.

Not to mention so much more available at Marble Play: our exclusive buddy-up feature, classifieds, shopping and our unique My Marbles page, where Marble Play users can fashion their own page to include only what interests them from the world of sports, recreation, fitness and lifestyle.

I would love to talk further with you about this writing opportunity and the incentives we can offer you and/or your business or product: local and national exposure, attention from sporting clubs and unique advertising possibilities.

About Me

I'm a technology entrepreneur who took up trail running and triathloning back in 2001 to get off the work treadmill and see a bit more of the outdoors. I also love to eat, so the exercise helps me justify those extra helpings. ;oP I'm always interested in learning more about trail running - please comment and link away!

Want to advertise on this blog, reach 100k+ users/month who love the outdoors, and improve your Google PageRank? Give me a shout at scottdunlap [at] yahoo.com.

Creative Commons License.
All content on this website (including text, photographs, audio files, and any other original works), unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Re-use is permitted if properly attributed to the author and blog URL, and content is unmodified from it's original form. Derivative works require permission from author.